Sunday, January 11, 2009

My retardedness and my opinion on "Thirty-Two Kilos"

I'm retarded.  I was supposed to go to a "function" this morning at 11am.  I set my alarm for 9:45am.  However, I somehow didn't wake up until 10:28am.  Eeek!  I lied in bed and weighed my options.  I would have to leave the house at 10:50am at the absolute latest to get where I needed to go on time.  So that left me with 22 minutes to get ready.  I maybe could have made it if I really rushed and omitted some things from my morning routine (okay, omitted A LOT from my morning routine).  But I lied there in bed and decided not to go at all.  Why, you ask?  Because I hate rushing and even more than that I HATE being late.  I can't handle it.  I would rather not go at all than be late - how messed up is that????  I need to get over this problem, ASAP.  So instead of going to this function, I'm blogging.  Haha.  Now, I would like to note that it wasn't crucial that I attend this function (sorry, I know I'm being all mysterious about it) this morning, but I would have really benefited from going.  Unfortunately, I have been known to do this when it is crucial for me to be there - like if I'm meeting a friend or something - very, very bad.  Granted, I don't do that as often, but it has been known to happen.  So I will go back to my first sentence I this blog - I am retarded.   

A lot of bloggers have been posting about the "Thirty-two Kilos" exhibit by Ivonne Thein at the Goethe Institut in Washington DC.  Even though the photographs of the stick thin women (I'm not kidding at the "stick" part) are digitally manipulated and the exhibit isn't intended to be pro-ana, I am still infuriated.  I know that Thein is an artist and that she is trying to be creative, but I think she should have thought more about the impact of her exhibit and how the world would interpret it.  I know I have strong feelings about this, but I feel like her exhibit is just as bad as the media glamorizing the thin ideal.  Although the intentions of Thein and the media are very different, I believe they will lead to the same thing - girls wanting to be thinner.  Thein's attempt at bringing awareness to the dangers of anorexia is just fueling the fire.  I am boycotting the exhibit and writing a letter to the Goethe Institute and would encourage others to do the same.  I just had to get that off my chest, thanks for listening, even if you don't agree.        

6 comments:

Tiptoe said...

I've done similar things with having my plans all screwed up, thus ditching the entire thing. Later, I regret it for even having done that as it feels like such a wrong thing to do.

As for the exhibit, I'm curious how others will view it--pro-ana inspiration or ridiculously sick.

Jackie said...

Kara I completely agree. I saw the blog on the exhibit and went to the website to look at the pictures - all I can say is TRIGGERING. I know they were photoshopped and all that crap but she essentially glamorized these emaciated models. I am glad I am not the only one who thought this. Girls with ED are going to look at those pictures and think it is possible to look like that...ugh...it makes me mad.

I am sorry about the waitressing job but I truly believe volunteering will help so much. I know that working on my pro bono case has literally saved me life. Staying healthy in order to help others is truly a staple in my recovery.

Lots of love. xoxo

Just Eat It! said...

I'm not outraged per say, but the Thirty Two Kilos exhibit does make me angry. Although the artist says that she isn't glamorizing anorexia, the poses and clothing of the models say otherwise. It's like a pro-ana field day.

Since I live right outside of DC, there was an article about the exhibit in the Washington Post. I wrote them a letter giving them a piece of my mind for displaying such a triggering photograph in the Style section. It wasn't something I wanted to look at while I was eating my breakfast.

PTC said...

I'm gonna check out this 32 kilos thing...

KC said...

a friend recently told me that she's against the practice of portraying pictures of anorexia to fight anorexia, and I think I agree

eden said...

kara! i just found your blog! i just had to tell you that i totally understand the hating being late thing. i've skipped classes while in school because i'm running late.

just thought i'd share!